Improvement in machines foe making sowing-machine needles



2 Sheets-Sheet y 1.

T. POWLER. .MACHINE POR MAKING SEWINGV MACHINE NBEDLES.

Patented 'sept'. s, 1867.

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l T. FOWLBR. MACHINE FOR MAKING SEWING MACHINE NEEDLES. No. 68,429. f Patented Sept. 3, 186?.

@einen tette atrnt ffct 'T HADDEUS F-OVLER, `0F` SEYMOUIR, lCO:NNE ('IIGU Letters Patent No. 68,429. dated September', 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN MAeIIINns `ron MAKING s'swINeMAoHINE NBNDLBS.'

@te rlgcmlz referto tu in faire chos 332mm mit milking @nrt tf tige samt.

To ALL WHoM IT MAY CONCERN: l 4

Be it known that I, THADDEUS FowLER, of Seymour, in tiie'county of New Haven, and Stateof Connecticut;

`have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines forMaking' Sewing-Machine Needles; and I lo hereby declare the following to hea full'clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a'part o'nthis specification, inj which'- Figure 1 represents a top plaln of the machine.-

Figure 2 represents an elevation of one of its' sides,

Figure Sgrepresents alongitudinal central` section through-'the salam, Similar letters of reference, where they occur in'the separate gu'res, denote like parts in all the drawings. l My invention rela-ties to a machine for making sewing-machine needles, wherein the blank is automatically fed up, turned, groovcd, drilled, pointed, and polished, as'will be explained in connection with the-drawings.

A represents a substantial table andframe for containing all the operative parts of the machine. AOn' thev table or frame there is a shaft, B,.fwhicli maybe driven by a crank, C, -or by a pulley, by any irst-moving power, and from this shaft ist'ransmitted the power that operates the 'various devices for accomplishing thoseveral successive operations' in forming the-needles. Around n` small pulley, a, on oneend of the shaft B,

und` around a larger pulley, b, on 'the end of a second shaft, D, there passes an 'endless belt orl'bnnd, E, fol` giving motion 'to said shaft D, undlnpon` thisshaft, which isA underneath the bed or table, there isja vertical cogged gear, F,vthat takes into and turns a horizontal gear, G, on a vertical shaft, H, andupouthis shaft also, above the gear G, there is another gear, I, which has eogs on its 4rim projecting upward, and whichtake'inte and rotate o. series of frictional spur-'gear-SJ, arranged on a series of runaudrels, d, thatkxiidiate from a commen point, of which the shaft H is the centre; These mandrels d, with their spurgears"e, are arranged-'in a carrying and holding-wheel, J, that is intermittently moved, and then held whilst the series of operations is performed, as will be explained. The spur-gears c are notpermanently fastened onV their respective mand-reis il, hut 4are held thereto by springs which Vcause suicieut friction to make the gea-rs revolve tho mandrels'ordinarily, but so that when necessary any mandrel-mayremain stationary whilst its gear-may move; and. thus the machine may have a constant motion, whils someoi its part-'s remain fixed or in a fixed position. Theblanks that are tobe operated upon or converted into needles are placed in suitable/holes or sockets in the outer ends ofthe mandrols,A und are fed around and operated upon, as will -be explained. A slide or carriage, K, is placed and guided on top of the table, and is moved' up toward each blank, as it comes opposite to it, hymcans of a eamL, on the shaft D, which takes against a. pivoted arm o'r leven-M, and to' which arm or lever the carriage is connected by a rcd,f, and when the cam ceases to act upon the arm or lever, or runs out, a spring, yffwhichis expanded by the moving up o? the carriage, by its contraction draws' back the carriage lfor the next succeeding operation. Upon the carriage K 'are arranged two milling tools or burs t L, which are upon the upper en ds of`- shafts t' t' that pass down through the carriage, and have upon them gears ,7' j, bywhich;they are'rotated towards each other, and -to or against the blank between them. The power to drive the mills or burs is taken from a. vertical shaft, N, by means of an endless belt that passes around a. pulley, k, on one of theshafts @'and this pulley.

shaft, through its gezirj, drives its mate or fellow. 4The object of the mills or' burs la is to out the grooves inthe blank, and, when these grooves are cut diametrically opposite each other, the blank is r'no'vedjnlong to the drill where the eye is drilled.- The mills or burs boing horizontal, they cut the grooves on the sides, as it: were, .of the blank. The drill is arranged vertically, as' seen at l, and consequently the'blank must-be-turned a quarter revolution, so that the-eye may he drilled' throughA from groove to groove. For'this purpose there is a pin, m, passed through each mandrel d, which projects vfar enough to come against a stop, mand .when said pin is against said step the mandrel cannot turn, though its pinion c-may turn enit. These pins maro 'so arranged in the mandi-els that when they come-against the stopn the grooves will bo'in the proper positionuior the drill' to properly drill the eye, and are so held until the eye is drilled through. -Thddrill l isrotated by an endless belt, 0which passes around a pulley, 11,' on the vertical shaft N, and a pulleyq, on the drill-stock. The

' shaft N derives its motionfrom the main-driving-shuft B, throughl the lpulleys O P, and the band Qpassing .,r

around them. In addition to the rotating motion of the drill l it must have a feeding motion to the blank, so este drill clear through it, or from groove to groove. For this purpose I arrange as follows: On the shaft D there is an eccentric, R, that works against la rod, S, fastened at one of .its ends 1- to' the main frame, and moves said rod downward. To the opposite or free ,end of said rod VS a-link, s, is connected, which extends upward,

:md s attached to un arm, t, connected to the drill-stock, and as the eccentricmoves'f'tbe i'odS it draws the drill.` down far enough tofeed it through the blank, which, oi' course, is a very short distance, und when tlie cam ceases to act on the rod the recoil ofthe spring n raises up the drill' for the nextoperntion. y

The partially-formed needle is then moved along and stopped in its -i'ceding-(gironit under the point-ing "instrument T, butv continues to revollc'emoundits ownasisptobepointed- `l'.l'hi's vpointing instrument isv nicked' like a fine ille, and is hung upony an arm, v, that is reciproca-ted through-er on a guide, vw, to make its inetionsuniform and accurate. The arm z2 is operated as.4 follows: On the vertical 'shaft N Shel-eis a cum, rv, that wol-lts against a rod, U, that is fnstcn'ed. to the main frame, and controlled or held. up against said cnmvby' a spring', yf The free end ofrthe rod- U is connected to a pivoted arm o'r lever', z, on the upper e'nd of which tlie arm v, that carries' the pointing instrument T, is attached; said pointing instrument being. inclined to give tle proper taper to the needle. As the partially-made necdle'revolves rapidly under the pointing instrument, wliich moves buck and forth, tlrcpointing is soon done.

Next the partially-made needle is fed around and stopped under the polishing-belt V, which isv an emery belt. passing over pulleys 112.,r and driven from the main driving-shaft B by en endless belt, W, passing 4around apulley thereon, and around u small pulley, 3, 'on the shaft X that drives the polishing-belt. The needle is l rapidly rotated around its own axisunder the polishing-belt, and the latter having also a travelling motion, the

polishing is quickly' done. l

Next the needle is fed along and momentarily stopped under ,the scratch-wheel Y, which cleans out the grooves Where the polishing-belt will not reach, and the needle is completed. `The scratcb-wheel'is driven by u. belt, 4, p assingaroun'd its pulley 5, and a. pulley, (i, on the shaft X, and when the needle thus nished passes thescrntch-wheel it can be drawn out from itsmandreland another blank inserted.

The intermittent motion given to the wheel J, that carries around the mandrels und blanks in them .to the i seveialpdevices that operate upon the blanks, and cemplete'and form it into a sewing-machine needle, is attained as `follows: Onthc pulley-wheel b there isa cum, 7, that strikeaguinst a pivoted arm, 8,- und moves said arm on'its pivot. To this arm S is pivctcd a deg, il, Atlitrtukcs against one ofthe mandrels (said series of mandrels vforrning'a ratchet as it wei-gland moves"tliat umidi-el "intel proper position, so'thatits blank vwill he operated upon by the mills or burs lt. When 4the mandrel arrives hat the exact point its pin 10 comes agains't'the stop lll,l and it is there held whilst the burs cut the grooves in it. The dog or pawl 9 is returned by the spring12, or otherwise, for the next succeeding similar operation, and, .that there muy bono backward motion tothe feedwheel J, a spring-hok, 13, catchesover or behndl'th'e mandrel and prcvents'nny backward motion, whilst it does not interfere with the forward feeding of said carrying-wheel. i l

A circular rim or rest, 14, extends around far enough to support the projecting blnnk,or partially r coun' pletely made needles, whilstjhey'aro bei'ngncted upon by the drill, the pointer,'the polisher, and tho seratchor. The carriage K forms a rest or support for the projecting blank whilst the millsaro cutting the grooves.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I elfjim therein as new, and desire to secure by -Letters Patent, i s--' l 1. In combination withan intermittently revolving feed-wheel,"'csrrying s series of mandrels, a dog orpawl for moving'said feed-wheel, when said dog or porvltakes against the mandrcls themselves as a ratchet to turn the wheel by, substantially ns described.

2. I also claim, in combination with c. feed-wheel, und aseries of mandrels therein, and with -the milling und d1 illing mechanism, a mechanism forstopping and holding the blank under the'drill vat ,a quurter'revolution from the position it occupied at the mills, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. l

8. I also claim, in machine-drilled needles, the drilling of. thehole throughfthe blankffrom the bottom of one groove to, the bottoni ofthe opposite groove, by a mechanism arranged and autcmaticsllyjoperuted, sub# stantially as herein described and represented.

fr'HADDnU-s FowLnn. y

Witnesses:

A. B. S'ronom'on, R. G. L'Ausssr. 

